CWCF Jack R. MacDonald Community Fund Grants Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the Centre Wellington Community Foundation?
Centre Wellington Community Foundation (CWCF) is a public charitable foundation created for and by the people of Centre Wellington. Our mission is to strengthen the Centre Wellington community by helping donors achieve their giving goals and assisting local Registered Charities and non-profit organizations partnering with registered Charities to find resources to support their important work. CWCF provides community leadership and partnership building.
2. What are Jack R. MacDonald Community Fund Grants?
Jack R. MacDonald, a successful businessman from Seattle, had family connections to the Village of Elora. He was known to donate money to the Village of Elora over the years, and, in his passing, established a fund to benefit the former Village of Elora. CWCF Jack R. MacDonald Community Fund Grants are aimed at providing grants up to a maximum of $5,000 in 2025 to registered charitable organizations and not-for-profit organizations to support projects that will have a positive impact within the former Village of Elora boundaries.
3. Who can apply for Jack R. MacDonald Community Fund Grants?
Registered charities and not-for-profit organizations who are partnered with a registered charity with a project impacting the former Village of Elora can apply for a grant. If you are unsure who to partner with, please contact us to discuss.
4. What kind of projects will you be willing to fund?
Grants should support projects that better the former Village of Elora. CWCF produced its Centre Wellington Vital Signs report in October 2019 to identify potential areas that will guide our funding decisions.
Projects should support any of the following:
● Belonging & Leadership
● Housing
● Health, Wellbeing and Food Security
● Arts & Culture
● Narrowing the gap between Rich & Poor
● Environment
Applications will NOT be considered:
● To support ongoing operating costs, including wages and salaries
● In response to fundraising campaigns
● To cover deficits
● To retire debts
● To increase endowment funds
● To fund activities that serve primarily the membership or purposes of religious or political organizations
● To individuals
5. Important Dates:
● The grant application program opens on September 21, 2026.
● The deadline for submitting applications is October 9, 2025 at 12:00 p.m.
● All projects must be completed by December 31, 2027.
● Upon project completion, please either email or call the Executive Director with an update on project completion and outcomes.
6. When will we find out if our application was successful?
Decisions about the grants will be announced within four weeks after closing. All applicants will be contacted at that time.
7. Will we have to report on how we used the funds?
A brief summary not exceeding 250 words should be emailed to the executive director within eight weeks of project completion. If you have them, include images, links to social media stories, and quotes from your organization or participants. Please make sure you have approval for images and quotes, as we may use them in our communications and marketing.
8. If our application is successful, how do we acknowledge the funding source for our project and project-related materials?
You can download an electronic version of our logo to use on your project and related materials. The guidelines and logo are covered under our website’s Grant Recognition & Reports page.
9. Our organization has received a CWCF Grant from a different program in the past year. Can we apply for another one in 2026?
Yes, absolutely.
10. Can we apply for more than one grant?
Yes, you can. Each application must be for a different project.
11. If I have a need outside of the granting period, do I have to wait until the next deadline to apply? This is dependent on the time frame needed, so please email grants@cwfoundation.ca or call us at 1-888-713-4083 to discuss your situation.
12. Can I talk to someone about my idea and my application?
Absolutely! If you are unsure or have questions, we encourage you to contact us about your idea before starting to work on the grant application. You can either send an email to grants@cwcfoundation.ca or call our number at 1-888-713-4083.